Monday, August 11, 2008

Deloading

Next week starts our deload week and it is usually needed by time we get to the end of our third week. We deload every fourth week but in the past I have taken a deload week as I felt it was needed. With a planned deload I feel we can plan our training better and get more out of the same training. When I did not plan for the deload I ended up randomly deloading and miss an important workout that I needed.
For our deload weeks we always cut out the CNS work but keep the muscular work high. We also use these weeks to work on our conditioning, rehab injuries and do some things we might not usually do for powerlifting training. We also have rep contests like kettlebell snatches, 100 glute ham raises in as few sets as possible, Power b jack me ups and other fun stuff.
If you do not use a deload in your own training or with your athletes I highly recommend it. If you are unsure what to do start by cutting your volume to 50% of your normal workload. If you need to get away from your traditional stuff try getting outside for a playground workout or just pull the sled. We find that we are ready to get back to lifting at the end of the deload. As long as your work load is lowered you should be fine. If you are looking for more information about deloading you can check out the links below.

Eric Cressey - The Art of the Deload

Jim Wendler - Deload to Reload

Eric Cressey - The Prehab Deload

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

playground workouts

I ran into a video of these guys on http://www.straighttothebar.com/. These guys are truly amazing.



Get past this guy talking for some great action.